1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a misfueling prevention system for vehicles. More particularly, it relates to a misfueling prevention apparatus for vehicles, which can prevent a diesel vehicle from being misfueled with a wrong fuel.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a fuel tank is provided in a vehicle to store fuel necessary for the combustion of an engine, and a fuel filler neck is provided at the end of an oiling pipe connected to the fuel tank to supply fuel.
Refueling guns for injecting fuel to the fuel filler neck differ in diameter and refueling speed according to the type of fuel such as gasoline or diesel.
Usually, the diameter of a refueling gun for injecting diesel is greater than the diameter of a refueling gun for injecting gasoline.
Accordingly, the fuel filler neck of a diesel vehicle has a diameter greater than the diameter of the fuel filler neck of a gasoline vehicle.
For example, the diesel refueling gun has a diameter of about 25 mm to about 31 mm, and the gasoline refueling gun has a diameter of about 19 mm to about 21 mm.
Also, the fuel filler neck of the gasoline vehicle has a diameter of about 22 mm, and the fuel filler neck of the diesel vehicle has a diameter of about 26 mm to about 32 mm.
Accordingly, since the diesel refueling gun cannot be inserted into the fuel filler neck of the gasoline vehicle and only the gasoline refueling gun can be inserted into the fuel filler neck of the gasoline vehicle, misfueling does not occur in the gasoline vehicle. However, since the gasoline refueling gun as well as the diesel refueling gun can be inserted into the fuel filler neck of the diesel vehicle, misfueling often occurs in the diesel vehicle.
In the past, diesel fuel was usually used for large-size vehicles, but small-size vehicles using diesel fuel is recently increasing. Also, due to high oil prices, since self-service gas stations are increasing, cases of misfueling a diesel vehicle with gasoline are also increasing.
Recently, as the refueling cost increases, self-service gas stations in which a driver refuels a vehicle by himself/herself are gradually increasing.
These self-service gas stations have self-refueling apparatus disposed in plurality, allowing a drive to self-refuel his/her vehicle for convenience.
However, since the gasoline refueling gun and the diesel refueling gun are provided on the same refueling apparatus and two refueling switches for selecting the kind of oil are provided on the corresponding refueling guns, respectively, a wrong refueling gun or refueling switch may be selected due to driver's carelessness. Accordingly, misfueling may occur.
Actually, when fuel is supplied into a diesel vehicle, an accident of misfueling a vehicle with gasoline often occurs. The misfueling may cause the output reduction of an engine and the damage of the engine, and may stop the operation of the engine, causing a large-scale accident. Also, misfueling may cause the damage of fuel system devices such as an injection pump.
In this regard, European Patent No. 2,489,538, Korean Utility Model No. 20-0,379,655, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-001144, and Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2009-0114949 disclose technologies that enable refueling by operating a stopper only when a diesel refueling gun having a large diameter is inserted.
However, the above-mentioned technologies do not consider a common diesel refueling gun having a diameter of about 31 mm, and is insufficient in terms of structure and operation. Also, there is a limitation in that an oil filling port may be opened even when a gasoline refueling gun having a small diameter is inserted.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.